Hi friends!
As you know, I have had quite an extended season of waiting for God’s timing for Secret Sauce Co NZ to launch. God has shown me that there is purpose in this season of waiting; He’s using this time to prepare me for our next season (Secret Sauce Co NZ is just one aspect of it). One way God is preparing me is by adding to my skill set in the kitchen. I have started baking from scratch!
I used to think I knew how to bake. Turns out, I knew nothing! It all started in Auckland when I was cookbook shopping at Whitcoulls with Diane for homeschool. She had finished reading and cooking from her first cookbook, so we were choosing a new one for her technology class. While she was thumbing through cookbooks undecidedly, I too was looking at cookbooks. Did I need another cookbook? According to Matt, no. But I am always down to add to my collection. I found the Italian section, and two cookbooks caught my eye. They were huge and oh, so pretty. I looked at the price tags on both and decided against buying them. I looked some more and found another cookbook that looked so quaint and was reasonably priced, so I decided to buy it for myself. Once we chose a cookbook for Diane, we checked out and resumed the rest of our day.
Here’s the thing: as I went about my day, the cookbooks I didn’t purchase stayed at the forefront of my mind. Once my day was over, the house tidied, the kids in bed, I knew I needed to go back. I needed to get those cookbooks! I reasoned with Matt, telling him that those cookbooks would further my skills in the kitchen, which would allow me to innovate Secret Sauce’s offerings in the future. The minute I got the go-ahead, I was off! I was a little nervous that someone else had discovered and bought the cookbooks I was after, as there was only one copy each on the shelf. But thankfully, I arrived and there they were, just waiting for me to take them home!
I’m sure you want to know what cookbooks I got. And I’ll tell (and show) you! First, we have At Nonna’s Table by Paola Bacchia. It stood out to me because lately I’ve been intentional to limit my following on Secret Sauce Co NZ’s Instagram page to other small business owners, accounts featuring Italian chefs or food, and as many Nonnas as I can possibly find! My Nonna died when I was only eight years old. I always felt like I missed out on core Nonna experiences, including her passing down recipes to me and teaching me how to cook them. When I saw this book, I was drawn to it. I don’t have my own Nonna’s recipes, but I can borrow recipes from someone else’s Nonna and teach myself. Something about that warms my heart and makes me feel like I have a second chance at something I missed out on.
Now for the books I passed up and returned for. We have Pizza: Authentic, Rustic, Artisanal by Cider Mill Press and The Silver Spoon by Phaidon. I didn’t realise this until I got home and cracked open the Pizza cookbook: it was published near my hometown. Which figures, because New Haven is known for its delicious pizza (Frank Pepe, I’m looking at you)! And The Silver Spoon is known as the bible of authentic Italian cooking. It’s got absolutely everything. The cashier couldn’t believe the sheer mass of this book!
What do these cookbooks have to do with baking? Well, I found a Focaccia with Milk recipe in the At Nonna’s Table cookbook and made it with gluten-free substitutions. The taste was spot on, but the texture needed improvement. I quickly realised that measure-for-measure gluten-free substitutions wouldn’t be as straightforward as I initially thought. I learned that baking is a lot more complex than meets the eye. This realisation also made me consider that the pizza dough recipes in Pizza and the baking recipes in The Silver Spoon would also need some thoughtful adaptation if they were going to be gluten-free, have the correct texture, AND taste authentic.
I was at the drawing board. What to do? I had zero experience, and my skills were beginner at best. A thought popped into my mind – years ago, I discovered The Loopy Whisk. Kat, its founder, is a baker as well as a scientist, and she just so happens to specialise in gluten-free baking (as well as egg-free, vegan, etc.). Her cookbooks are all about teaching the science behind gluten-free baking, and that is exactly what I needed! A science class to help me understand the different ingredients and what they bring to the table. I decided to buy her cookbook I had been eyeing for ages, called The Elements of Baking.
As soon as I got the cookbook, I got to work in the kitchen. I learned a lot of valuable lessons with each new recipe I tried. Like active dry yeast needs to be activated with sugar and warm water or milk and stored in the fridge. And you need to add warm water to make a psyllium husk gel to replicate a gluten-like consistency. And how to make a warm environment for proofing. And resting the dough makes it a LOT easier to handle. These all may seem trivial, but to a complete beginner, they opened my eyes to everything I had done wrong in previous batches. Each batch got progressively better.
I’ve been at it ever since, and I’ve baked almost 15 recipes and have increased my knowledge and skills, as well as filled some hungry bellies with delicious, wholesome food. So this is a hearty welcome to my gluten-free baking journey, where I will share what I’m making, as well as the resources I use, for anyone who wants to join in on the fun. It’s been such a rewarding adventure so far, and I’m excited to take on more complex recipes as I gain experience.
Much Love,
Jacqueline
The Cullums Immigrate 